Senate confirms William Barr as attorney general, putting him in charge of Mueller's Trump-Russia investigation

William Barr was confirmed as the next attorney general on Thursday. (Andrew Harnik / AP)

The Senate confirmed William Barr as the next attorney general Thursday, putting him in charge of Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation at a time when lawmakers are pushing for the special counsel’s findings to be made public.

Barr, who served as AG in the first Bush administration and was picked by President Trump to permanently replace Jeff Sessions, was predictably approved on a mostly party-line vote of 54-45.

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The 68-year-old lawman takes over supervision of Mueller’s probe from Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who has overseen the special counsel’s work since Sessions recused himself in March 2017.

Sessions’s recusal irreparably wrecked his relationship with the President, whose campaign is being investigated by Mueller over the possibility that it colluded or participated in Russia’s pro-Trump attack on the 2016 election.

They also raised alarm about Barr’s view of presidential powers and needled a controversial memo he penned ahead of his nomination that argued Trump couldn’t have obstructed justice by firing former FBI Director James Comey — a central part of Mueller’s investigation.

Barr, who has the power to release or redact Mueller’s findings as he sees fit, insisted during his confirmation hearings that he will be as transparent as possible while still adhering to Justice Department regulations. Democrats said that wasn’t enough.

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“Mr. Barr's views about the power of the President are especially troubling in light of his refusal to commit to making the special counsel's findings and the report publicly available," said California Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the top Democrat on the Judiciary panel, following the vote.